A new exhibit at the Artists League of the Sandhills Exchange Street Gallery features the work of Marilyn Petersen.

The opening reception will be on Sunday, Feb. 3, from 3 to 5 p.m. The show will run through March 15.

Marilyn Petersen was born in Dallas, and has lived in Laurinburg since 2000. She has had a long career as an artist, working in enameling, jewelry, fiber arts and visual arts.

Her portrait work is the focus of this exhibit. Using the photography of her journalist son, Lucian Read, and her travels in Latin America as her inspiration, her work tells the story of the life of women and children in the world.

Regardless of the country or place in the world, women and children face the same challenges: poverty, social injustice, violence, war and access to health care. This exhibit explores these challenges through portraits of women and children in Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also included in the exhibit will be some of her enameled buttons. There are several types of enameling techniques using the same materials in different forms.

In this exhibit there will be cloisonne and champleve techniques shown in wearable art. The materials used to produce them are fine silver, sterling silver and enamel. They are set in a sterling silver bezel.

The Artists League of the Sandhills is a nonprofit organization founded in 1994 to promote interest in the visual arts by providing art education and a friendly environment in which to work, exhibit and sell members' artworks. It is located in historic downtown Aberdeen at 129 Exchange St., in the old Aberdeen Rockfish Railroad storage terminal.

Visit the website at www.artistleague.org. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.

Contact the League at (910) 944-3979 or email artistleague@windstream .org for information on membership, classes, workshops and monthly gallery exhibits.